A
seasoned lawyer explains the facts of the case to François in the
aftermath of his wife Bébé putting arsenic in his coffee: "With poison
it's practically impossible to present the case as a crime passionnel.
Under the stress of violent emotions a person may snatch up a revolver
or an axe. It's difficult to imagine such an emotion persisting long
enough for the poison to be procured, for the right moment to present
itself, and for all the careful arrangements to be made which poisoning
necessitates."
The Truth About Bébé Donge, a Georges
Simenon non-Inspector Maigret romans durs, a novel that has been
fascinating readers ever since its original publication in 1952. And for
good reason - the question looms: Why did Bébé poison her husband? Mr.
Simenon brings the full range of his deep understanding of human
psychology and the dynamics of marriage to probe this very question.
The
opening chapters set the stage. It’s a sunny Sunday morning in August.
François and Bébé Donge along with Bébé’s mother and another married
couple - François’ brother Félix and Bébé’s sister Jeanne – are enjoying
a leisurely breakfast on the lawn of their home near a small French
town. Bébé stirs arsenic in her husband’s coffee and all hell breaks
loose. François is taken to the hospital by ambulance and not long
thereafter, in a calm, cool voice, as if talking about her latest round
of interior decorating, Bébé confesses her crime and is hauled off to be
locked up at the local police station.
Bébé, oh Bébé, you sweet, attractive lass, what lead you to commit your atrocious crime?
Investigating
possible motives can be tricky since the bulk of the novel follows
François and dips into his recollections and reflections on life with
Bébé. Other than a few brief words on that fateful August morning, what
Bébé herself thinks and says only comes out in a voluntary statement
submitted to a detective and a dossier read by her defending attorney.
Keeping
all this in mind, I have linked my own observations to several of the
many clues Georges Simenon sprinkles throughout his tightly constructed
tale:
"A pretty face she might have and a perfect figure, but
there was no getting away from the fact that in the flesh there was
something dull about her. A lack of élan. The very whiteness of her skin was somehow lifeless and uninspiring."
Bébé
married François at age 17 and committed her crime at age 27. Latter on
in the novel it comes out that Bébé's first exposure to the sexual act
was traumatic - Bébé was only 13 when she witnessed her maid having sex
with a soldier. Recognizing Bébé's alienation from her own body, perhaps
François would have been wise to seek out professional psychological
counseling for Bébé or joint marriage counseling. However, I recognize
it is easy for me to say in 2018 but this story takes place back in 1952
when seeking psychological help had a stigma attached - seeing a shrink
means the patient is crazy. And one can imagine how such news would
travel fast in a small town.
"As for her coming into the
business . . . No, and once again No! That was no place for a woman who
spent two or three hours dolling herself up every morning, who put yolk
of egg on her cheeks to keep her complexion, who used every conceivable
variety of beauty preparation, and swathed her hands in wet towels to
keep them white."
This is François' reaction back when Bébé asks
if she can be his secretary at the office (François heads up a factory
with his brother). Latter on in the story, François comprehends he
didn't fully appreciate Bébé's request signaled how she might have felt
her life empty and viewed herself as useless, spending all her days
isolated at home, little more than a mother to their frail son Jacques.
Again, François is very much a product of the 1950s - a man's place is
at work and a wife's place is in the home.
"In spite of an
over-imaginative girl who ordered expensive dresses from Paris to moon
about in all by herself in a country garden, and who translated English
poetry in collaboration with Mimi Lambert."
François never liked
having Bébé's friend Mimi Lambert at his house. Once, he spoke sharply
to Mimi - in effect, kicking her out. In retrospect, François
comprehends this was a grave mistake.
"Promise me that whatever
happens you'll always be absolutely frank with me, that, even if it
hurts me, you'll always tell me the truth . . . you see, François, it
would be ghastly to to live all our lives side by side in an atmosphere
of false pretences."
François has had a number of affairs. never
hiding any of his relationships from Bébé. Curiously, following her
crime, Bébé tells everyone, the detective, her attorney, that she did
not act out of jealousy. Are we to believe her? When pressed, Bébé does
not provide a clear motive. Her attorney tells François he has never
encountered such an example of cynicism in his long career. He also
makes it clear to François: "Your wife is absolutely responsible for her
actions." In other words, temporary insanity is out of the question.
From the attorney's dossier:
"Q. I'm going to ask you a precise question: if jealousy was not the motive of your crime, was it hatred? . . . Or love?
A: Hatred."
Reading The Truth About Bébé Donge
I can't help thinking of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Underground Man when he
says: "“And two times two is four is no longer life, gentlemen, but the
beginning of death.” My sense is Bébé has something of the Underground
Man about her. I highly recommend giving this short novel a careful read
so you can judge for yourself. 
Georges Simenon, 1903-1989
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